The funding is the third round of the country’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund (LEVCF) that sees the government match EV projects by businesses.

Renault Zoe

The latest funds will include:

• A 58-tonne EV truck to shuttle dairy goods made by Fonterra to the railway.
• An EV car-sharing fleet of one Kia Soul and three Nissan Leafs for Kerikeri Retirement Village residents.
• 15 fast chargers for shopping centres.
• A start-up car-share business which plans to make 100 EVs available for hire.
  

  Nissan Leaf

NZ energy and resources minister Megan Woods said $1.7 million of the funding would go to charging infrastructure. There would also be funds for the development of EV campervans and to the Motor Industry Training Organisation to develop a qualifications framework for mechanics working on EVs.

The LEVCF offers up to 50 per cent funding towards projects. Applicants must match or exceed the amounts granted. In the latest round, the $3.74 million funded by the government is less than the $4.3 million contributed by the businesses.
In its push to expand its EV fleet, the NZ Transport Agency has also committed to switching 30 per cent of its vehicles to EVs as the existing fleets expire.

By Neil Dowling